Lamellar armour consists of hundreds of small rectangular iron, leather, or bronze plates (scales or lamellae) which are pierced in various locations and laced together into horizontal rows to the proper length needed to construct a particular armour item. When the lames are made of leather they can be hardened by a process such as cuir bouilli (boiled leather) or lacqueringI. Boiling ithe lames in water causes the leather to be harder but more brittle.